HAVE YOUR SAY: The hits and misses at Misano

Another round, another two race wins for the ultra-consistent – and magnificently fast – Carlos Checa, the Spaniard showing his steely determination even when faced with the challenges of reigning World Superbike Champion Max Biaggi.

If Biaggi cannot beat Checa from a leading position on a circuit he was utterly dominant at twelve months ago, it would suggest the Spaniard is going to be incredibly difficult to overcome during the second-half of the season.

Still, Biaggi was in almost as good a form as Checa at Misano as the only other rider to get close to his rival on raw pace, the pair commanding a fairly substantial advantage over their rivals.

Even so, there were plenty of notable performances elsewhere, not least from Noriyuki Haga, who was a welcome figure on the podium in race two after a fesity ride on the gradually improving PATA Aprilia. Still, even the most hardened Haga-fans may not have begrudged seeing the plucky Ayrton Badovini snatch it from him at the end, the Italian notching up a career-best result as he begins to look like the most comfortable BMW rider in the field, particularly in race conditions.

Tom Sykes was another of the lesser-fancied riders to make an impression at Misano. Though weather played into Sykes's hands on the way to the Superpole, fourth in the dry conditions of race one showed the potential of the Kawasaki.

There were also good single results for Marco Melandri, Leon Haslam, Leon Camier and Michel Fabrizio, though all four would crash in one of the races, leaving them somewhat unsatisfied with their weekend efforts.

Further back, special mention must go to Chris Vermeulen, who recorded his first ever top ten finish with Kawasaki in race two, while Lorenzo Lanzi was a double point-scorer in his maiden outing aboard the BMW Italia.

In the Supersport class, Broc Parkes defied predictions to beat the Hondas and Yamahas, in doing so snatching the series lead, though strong rides by Fabien Foret, Sam Lowes and also wild-card Ilario Dionisi also deserve notification.

Nonetheless, we will leave this one up to you – who were your star riders at Misano?

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